Glyptodon

Glyptodon

 genus of extinct giant mammals (mammal) related to modern armadillos (armadillo) found as fossils in deposits in North and South America dating from the Pliocene (Pliocene Epoch) and Pleistocene epochs (Pleistocene Epoch) (5.3 million to 11,800 years ago). Glyptodon and its close relatives, the glyptodonts, were encased from head to tail in thick, protective armour resembling in shape the shell of a turtle but composed of bony plates much like the covering of an armadillo. The body shell alone was as long as 1.5 metres (5 feet). The tail, also clad in armour, could serve as a lethal club; indeed, in some relatives of Glyptodon, the tip of the tail was a knob of bone that was sometimes spiked. Glyptodonts ate almost anything—plants, carrion, or insects.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Glyptodon — Glyptodon …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Glyptodon — Lebensbild von Glyptodon Zeitraum Pleistozän vor etwa 0,012 Mio. Jahre Fundorte Taima Taima in Venezuela Ar …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • glyptodon — [ gliptɔdɔ̃ ] ou glyptodonte [ gliptɔdɔ̃t ] n. m. • 1839, 1928; de glypto et gr. odous, odontos « dent » ♦ Paléont. Mammifère fossile (édentés) couvert d une carapace, que l on trouve dans les terrains quaternaires d Amérique. ● glyptodon ou… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Glyptodon — Glyp to*don, n. [Gr. ? carved, engraved + ?, ?, tooth. See {Glyph}.] (Paleon.) An extinct South American quaternary mammal, allied to the armadillos. It was as large as an ox, was covered with tessellated scales, and had fluted teeth. Owen. [1913 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Glyptŏdon — (G. Owen), vorweltliche Gattung der Gürtelthiere, welche während der Diluvialperiode das nördliche Amerika bewohnte. Die einzige bekannte Art, G. clavipes Owen, fand man unweit Buenos Ayres u. zwar ihr vollständiges Skelett u. den dazu gehörigen… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Glyptŏdon — Glyptŏdon, s. Gürteltier und Zahnlücker …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Glyptodon — Glyptōdon, Gattung ausgestorbener zahnarmer, mit Hautpanzer aus Knochentafeln versehener bis nashorngroßer Säugetiere, deren Reste in den Pampasschichten und in den Knochenhöhlen Südamerikas gefunden werden …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • glyptodon — extinct gigantic mammal, 1838, irregularly formed from Gk. glyptos engraved (verbal adj. of glyphein; see GLYPH (Cf. glyph)) + odon (gen. odontos) tooth (see TOOTH (Cf. tooth)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Glyptodon — Glyptodon …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Glyptodon — Taxobox name = Glyptodon fossil range = Pleistocene image width = 250px image caption = Fossil specimen in Vienna at the Naturhistorisches Museum regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Mammalia superordo = Xenarthra ordo = Cingulata… …   Wikipedia

  • Glyptodon —   Gliptodonte Ejemplar fósil de un Gliptodonte …   Wikipedia Español

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